Category Archive: London

Places in London and suburbs

Review: Joia, Battersea

Joia has one very good thing going for it: huge floor-to-ceiling windows with 15th storey views out over Battersea Power Station and beyond. It’s a light and spacious dining room and it feels lovely to be here. That said, on arrival we had a similar experience to La Goccia: the lady on the door took …

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Review (again): Paradise, Soho

I reviewed Paradise a few years ago when we first went and enjoyed our best Sri Lankan meal in London to date. We’ve been back a few times since, whenever we’re longing for punchy whole-hearted spice and cool cocktails. So this isn’t a full review, I just wanted to highlight that they’ve now switched focus …

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Review: La Goccia, Covent Garden

La Goccia is an Italian restaurant in the same courtyard as the Petersham restaurant and from the same stable. It’s got a glamorous inner dining room with a bar counter, and a lighter outer room off the courtyard. This is where we were led when we arrived, pretty much the first guests of the evening …

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Review: Norma, Soho

I’ve got to get back to Sicily. Our only visit there was almost 30 years ago, long before I got the foodie bug, and we were there scarcely a week anyway. Since then I’ve watched every episode of Inspector Montalbano (look it up, you won’t be disappointed!) with hungry eyes, and witnessed the abrupt arrival …

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Review: Officina 00, Fitzrovia

We’re on a bit of an Italian vibe at the moment, no idea why. The latest is Officina OO, a pasta restaurant stuck out a little bit on its own, north past all the bustling eateries around Charlotte Street. Worth the extra few yards, though. Nice comfy leather chairs and plenty of space, with an …

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